


A Bit of Joy

by kate7h



Series: For Some Development - Thorfinn x Gudrid [4]
Category: Vinland Saga (Manga)
Genre: Gen, Joyful, Sailing, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-29 06:07:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21405424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kate7h/pseuds/kate7h
Summary: Einar watches Thorfinn laughing with Gudrid, and happily appreciates the site, remembering a time when Thorfinn was nothing but an empty shell.
Relationships: Gudrid/Thorfinn (Vinland Saga), Thorfinn & Einar (Vinland Saga)
Series: For Some Development - Thorfinn x Gudrid [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1765357
Comments: 6
Kudos: 53





	A Bit of Joy

**Author's Note:**

> I love Einar. That’s all.

There was laughter on the boat as the waves rocked them gently, due to such fair weather. Einar smiled, leaning against the rail, taking in the sight of not the sea, but of a friend. Thorfinn was sitting at the bow, a smile on his face as he talked happily with Gudrid. He thought perhaps Gudrid was telling him a funny story as they both kept laughing intermittently. It was truly a nice sight to see. 

Einar sighed, his hands clasping each other as he thought back to his earlier days in Ketil’s farm. Of the stoic and empty vessel Thorfinn had once been. Unkempt and much of the time barely responsive. Einar was sure he’d never spoken so much than when he did to fill the silence between the two of them. 

He thought of the times when they woke in the morning, and Thorfinn would try to be unobtrusive as Arnheid spoke to him. Apparently he’d been obvious enough in his feelings for her that even in that state, Thorfinn had noticed. 

“Have you spoken with Thorfinn about our course shift yet, Einar?” Leif asked, drawing his attention away from the happy laughter. 

Einar scratched his neck with a smile. “Not yet, I was- I guess giving them space?”

Leif raised a brow. “Who? Thorfinn?”

Einar let out a small laugh, pointing at the two further down. Thorfinn was holding Karli as Gudrid gestured wildly with her arms. 

“Thorfinn… and Gudrid?” Leif scoffed, chuckling as he looped a line of rope around his arm. “That little stowaway is probably not worth the trouble.”

He snorted, laughing at the old man. “Better not let her hear that, sir. She might bite your head off this time.”

Leif rolled his eyes, an annoyed pout on his face. “So why’re you giving them space?”

Einar looked to them again, watching the ease of the smile on Thorfinn’s face. “Because he always did the same for me… with Arnheid.”

Leif’s face turned somber, glancing at Einar with a touch of old mourning. “...You think Thorfinn feels the same for Gudrid as you did for Arnheid?”

With a shrug, Einar scratched at his neck. “Who can say? If he does, I doubt it’d be something he’d even know he was feeling.” 

He spared one more glance at the two. Gudrid was remarkably close to him, crooning to the baby while playing around with Thorfinn. He seemed… fairly pleased, poking at her with his free hand jokingly. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it sure looked like they were flirting with each other. Einar smiled again.  _ Nice to see him so happy.  _

“Well, if you’re right, then the situation might get a whole lot messier, what with Sigurd still on our tail somewhere.”

“Which would make Thorfinn an  _ actual  _ wife thief,” Einar added with a chuckle. 

Leif paled, looking a tad green. “I sure hope Halfdan forgives us in the end. Heaven have mercy. That idiot girl…”

Einar nodded. “I don’t think Thorfinn could stand to see her trapped in a life she didn’t want. So I’m kind of glad how it turned out, ya know?”

The man just shook his head at that. “That girl… of all the…! Ya know, Thorfinn’s too soft on her, ya hear?! It’s not like she’s the first person to not wanna do something expected of her! Thorfinn shoulda just marched her right back and then we could’ve smoothed it all over, and we could’ve avoided this whole mess.”

“What if it couldn’t have been resolved peacefully?” Einar asked, his tone darkening. “She stabbed Sigurd, after all. What if her punishment was more severe than the crime…”

His stomach churned, mind flashing again to Ketil’s farm… to Arnheid… “Is that something you think Halfdan is capable of?”

Leif was quiet for a few extended moments, looking down as he wound the rope into a neat loop. “You even sound like Thorfinn now…”

Einar shook his head. “Perhaps that’s not a bad thing. Despite his past, I’d say he’s one of the more thoughtful and compassionate people I know.”

As he spoke, Leif turned and watched the couple as Einar had. Their joy was so apparent, it was almost contagious. 

“It was all I could do to get him talking after we’d first met, though. I’d never have know. So quiet all the time, felt like my ears were ringing,” Einar laughed sadly. 

“He really wasn’t quiet as a child. Happy and loud was more like it,” Leif said thoughtfully, looking out at the waves. “Playful and energetic, and though he only had his father for a short time in his life… he’s so much like him now.”

Einar nodded. “Thors was a good man, then.”

“The very best,” Leif replied. “A mountain among men.”

His heart ached for his brother. Imaging having such a father be murdered before your very eyes… Einar thought briefly of the pain in his heart as he remembered his own family’s brutal ends…

“I don’t know if I can truly imagine what Thorfinn was like… during the time he described.”

Leif frowned, looking down. “I met him once, before I found you both at Ketil’s farm…”

Einar looked up, blinking. “Really?”

Leif nodded, glancing over to the man in question once more. “He was so cold, so broken and falling to pieces at only seventeen. I’ve never seen such malice and rage in a person since.”

The laughter rose once more and Einar turned his gaze to Thorfinn. He knew his brother’s heart well, and though he knew there was much self-loathing within him, he could discern nothing but joy from his face now. Not rage, not emptiness, but happiness in a peace he was finding for himself. 

“Looking at him now,” Leif continued. “It would be easy to trick myself into thinking none of that ever happened.”

“He definitely carries that burden, sir,” Einar said softly. “I’m just glad we’re all here to help ease that from him.”

Leif clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re a good man, Einar. I’m certain you saved that boy’s life.”

He didn’t have to ask what Leif meant by that. He knew. He knew that, after having gone so long the way Thorfinn had, what he’d truly needed at the time when Einar met him had been a friend. He was just grateful to be blessed enough to be that for him. 

Einar nodded, clapping Leif in the shoulder. “I’ll make sure to tell him of the change in plans. I just wanna let them be for a bit longer. Is that okay?”

Leif smiled sadly. “Of course. That’s completely fine.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a comment to let me know what you think!


End file.
